In recent years in the United States, the marketing and sale of homes and other single family dwellings has become increasingly competitive. As a result, the manner in which real estate is advertised has become increasingly important. An important part of the advertising program is the use of real estate signs planted in the front yards of residential homes to alert the public to the availability of that property. It is therefore important that such signs be quickly and easily installed once a property is listed for sale and that such signs similarly be quickly and easily removed when the time for advertising or sales promotion has ended.
Real estate brokerage firms typically hire an independent contractor to erect and take down such signs. Use of an independent contractor increases the expense and delays the installation and removal of the sign until the order for installation or removal can be processed and scheduled. The most attractive signs are large and provide an attractive eye-catching appearance to potential customers. But a drawback of these large, eye-catching signs is that there are generally large and cumbersome and must be installed deep into the ground to prevent them from falling over. Generally when a 4-by-4-type post is used, a hole must be dug for installation and such a hole must be filled in after removal of the sign post.
Other signs present a similar appearance to a 4-by-4 post but actually are hollow lightweight structures which fit over a strong metal rod which has been hammered into the ground (e.g. U.S. Pat. No. to DesNoyers et al. No. 4,843,746 and the references cited therein). The rod is usually three to four feet long and is driven into the ground by hammering, usually using a large hammer. Once the rod is in place the hollow lightweight structure replicating the appearance of a large wooden post is slipped over the rod in a hole for receiving the rod to support the above ground sign post structure. For the sign post to remain stable, the post must fit tightly with the rod to prevent swaying of the sign post. A swaying sign detracts from the quality impression that a real estate broker wants to convey. Therefore, the fit between the hole in the end of the post which receives the end of the rod must be tight or the hollow sign post must be otherwise clamped to the rod. To drive such a rod into the ground, a hammer must hit the end of the rod. Since the hammer does not always strike the end of the rod from the end perfectly, the end of the rod after a period of use tends to spread in a mushroom-like shape. The enlarged end of the rod must be cut off or otherwise repaired so that the top end, now mushroomed shaped, can still fit tightly into the hole in the replicated sign post.
Other real estate sign structures are less imposing and closer to the ground. They use a frame having a flat plate from which stakes protrude toward the ground. These sign structures are often installed by the installer using his or her body weight to drive the stakes into the ground. Usually two or more ground support legs are utilized in this type of sign support.
In other instances vertical boards such as 4-by-4's are driven into the ground in parallel and signs are nailed across the span between the two boards.
While in each of the above-mentioned examples there is a provision for securing the post in the ground, it is also true that in each of these examples there is virtually no provision to assist in removal of the sign posts or ground rods from the ground. The removal of the ground rod stakes or boards set into the ground is left up to the user in the best fashion that he or she can figure out. A removal of stakes or rods or posts driven into the ground can require greater effort and skill for removal than installation. The frictional force applied by the ground to the rod post or stake can sometimes be very high. When driving a rod into the ground, a user is assisted and the needed force is obtained by using a large hammer. However, there is no provision for similar assistance in removal of the rod stake or post imbedded in the ground.
For a sign post to be valuable, it must be secured in the ground with sufficient force to overcome the transverse forces generated by the wind and repeated gentle touching by potential buyers who remove advertising sheets held in a mailbox type container mounted on the sign post, or from incidental contact with a grass mower when the grass near the post is being cut. Since the sign post is often in place for several months, the initial sign post installation must be very sturdy to overcome such environmental conditions and support the sign in an aesthetically pleasing manner to provide a professionally competent sales appearance to potential buyers.